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Davis, the brilliant, the sparkling, as she •ally is, below. At right, the patrician *ho brings to every role the quality of a line intelligence, talent, and rare charm.
DEARBETTE: Act your age ! Now, wait a minute before you throw that. I don't mean what you think I mean. You probably won't remember, but several years ago, while you were in New York, I dropped in to say hello. You were all excited about the prospect of making Ethel Barrymore's stage hit, then playing, "The Corn Is Green," into a motion picture. I said, "But, Bette, that part is too old for you." You looked amused but tolerant. "It's a fine part and I want to play it," you said gently but firmly. So of course I knew that Davis wanted that part and Davis would get it, because you always get what you want.
I remember another time, longer ago. We went to the theater — it was "Idiot's Delight," with Lunt and Fontanne — and during intermission the two of us went to the little girls' room. There, you were recognized and surrounded with autograph seek
AN OPEN LETTER TO
BETTE DAVIS
Bette, whose "fine voice has also made her a favorite dramatic actress on the radio, with Teresa Wright as co-star at recent broadcast.
Latest for Davis: "A Stolen Life," in which she plays a dual role, with Glenn Ford opposite in his first peacetime part. Bette "acts her age."
Below, Bette Davis as the heroic schoolteacher in "The Corn Is Green," one of her artistic successes, in which she plays a woman far older than she really is.
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ers. You signed, but I noticed you were a trifle distant about it, and I said, "Why don't you give them a smile, Bette?" Well, you looked at me and said in that decisive New England voice, "I'm doing all right, Delight."
And you were. And you are, and you always will. But I STILL think that there is plenty of time for you to play character roles. Some of your fans agree with me, according to the letters I get. They like the modernity of Davis — the crisp, devil-may-care quality that is so essentially today's woman. I think you were superb as the schoolteacher in "The Corn Is Green." I said so in print. But I'm glad that your next will show you acting your age — that's what I mean. And I hope it's your most successful picture. Sincerely,